Thomas Rhett and Wife Lauren Say Having Adopted Daughter Home Is ‘A Dream’

Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren Akins, finally welcomed their daughter Willa Gray home from Uganda on May 11 after more than a year of waiting and navigating the ups and downs of adoption.

Finally being all in one place is surreal for the family, as they tell Peoplein a new interview.

“It felt like a dream. I’ve dreamed of us all being on the same continent for so long. It finally feels like everyone is where they’re supposed to be,” Lauren explains.

“On the way to the airport, it was like Christmas Day,” Rhett remembers.

Since Lauren is pregnant with the couple's biological daughter, due in just a few months, she was unable to travel to Uganda to pick up Willa Gray, but according to Instagram, her parents brought the baby girl to Nashville.

Lauren met Willa Gray in 2016 while on a trip to Uganda with the organization 147 Million Orphans and immediately bonded with her. Rhett recalls just how special the relationship was from first meeting.

“Lauren had this amazing glow about her and it just felt like she was already our daughter in a weird way,” he says. “I just blurted out, ‘We should bring her home.’ ”

After a dozen more trips to the country, stacks of paperwork and a lot of waiting, Willa is finally home — and ready to become a big sister! The couple is preparing to be Mom and Dad two times over with the impending arrival of Baby Akins, and they’re already knee-deep into life with a toddler.

“It is very weird to be called ‘Dad’ by a little human being,” says Rhett of becoming a father, adding, “She never stops moving!”

Outside of a busy home life, the country star has been busy, playing an undercover cop in his music video alongside B.A. bank robber Maren Morris for “Craving You.” It’s the first single off his upcoming record, which has yet to be announced. He’s also on his Home Team Tour with Kelsea Ballerini, Ryan Hurd and Russell Dickerson.